1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display device using a diffractive lens, and in detail relates to a two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) compatible image display device.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, display device technologies have been remarkably developed such that a three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic image display device has been attained, and various methods for displaying 3D images have been researched.
To realize the stereoscopic image display, one of the most generally-used methods is one using binocular parallax. In the method using binocular parallax, an image arriving at the left eye and an image arriving at the right eye are displayed in the same display device, and the two images are respectively incident to the left eye and the right eye of an observer. That is, images that are respectively observed at different angles are input to both eyes such that the observer may perceive a three-dimensional effect.
Methods in which the images are respectively input to the right and left eyes include a method using a barrier and a method using a lenticular lens as one type of cylindrical lens.
In a stereoscopic image display device using the barrier, a slit is formed in the barrier, and the images from the display device is divided into a left eye image and a right eye image that are respectively input to the left and right eyes of the observer through the slit.
A stereoscopic image display device using the lens respectively displays the left eye image and the right eye image, and the light path of the images from the stereoscopic image display device is modified through the lens such that the images are divided into the left eye image and the right eye image.
On the other hand, in a process in which a plane image display method is converted into a stereoscopic image display method, a 2D/3D compatible image display device has been developed, and the capability of switching between two-dimensional (2D) and 3D has is been developed.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art.